sasaki garden

1 1/2 oz Nikka Coffey Grain Japanese Whisky (Suntory Toki)
1/2 oz Avua Amburana Cachaça (Salinas Umburana)
2 tsp Caffo Amaretto (Luxardo)
1 tsp Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur
1 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Fridays ago, I looked to my Death & Co. book indices for recipes that utilize Japanese whisky, and I found the Sasaki Garden in their Welcome Home edition. The recipe was crafted by bartender Sam Johnson in 2019, and it was his ode to a park on the N.Y.U. campus that he used to walk through on the way to the bar. While the name reminded me of my Mytoi Gardens that I created at Russell House Tavern, the split spirits-split modifiers structure made me think of my Gallivanting in Golden Gai with orgeat and Maraschino. Since Scotch paired well with amaretto in the 1970s classic, the Godfather, and Scotch with apricot liqueur in the Golden Dog, I was curious to see how the two liqueurs worked with Japanese whisky. In the glass, the Sasaki Garden gave forth lemon and marzipan aromas. Next, a vaguely nutty and orchard fruit sip traversed into whisky, almond, cinnamon spice, and apricot flavors on the swallow. While the cachaça as a spirit got a little lost in the mix, the amburana wood finish came through with its delightful cinnamon spice note.

tokyo dagger

2 oz Yamazaki 12 Year Japanese Whisky (Suntory Toki)
1/2 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (El Maestro Sierra)
1/2 oz Bonal Gentiane Quina

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a cherry or a lemon twist (lemon twist).Two Thursdays ago, I had purchased a bottle of Toki Japanese Whisky, and I set off to find an inaugural recipe to make with it. The one I selected was the Tokyo Dagger by Sean Kenyon at Williams & Graham in Denver via a defunct Liquor-dot-com article where the recipe was captured on KindredCocktails. I soon found a blog post about the bar in 2012 that mentioned the drink. The combination of whisky and Pedro Ximenez sherry is one that has blossomed in the Rapscallion, William Wallace, Black Francis, and other recipes, so I knew that it would hit the spot with some Bonal in the mix. In the glass, the Tokyo Dagger gave forth a lemon and raisin aroma. Next, a grape-driven sip from the quinquina and sherry opened up into whisky, herbal, dried cherry, and fig flavors on the swallow with a rather dry finish.

sidewinder

2 oz Applejack (Laird's Bonded)
3/4 oz Maple Syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
2 dash Absinthe (20 drop St. George)
1 Egg White

Shake one round without ice and one round with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to an online collection of San Diego's Polite Provision recipes, and I spotted the Sidewinder that appeared like an interesting riff on the Rattlesnake from the Savoy Cocktail Book. Despite the overlapping ingredients of apple brandy and absinthe, it had nothing to do with Death & Co.'s Sidewinder riff on the Diamondback. While I was not able to find evidence of it in the Polite Provisions' Yelp menu photos, the idea of an apple brandy-maple syrup Rattlesnake was too tempting to pass up. Once assembled, the Sidewinder slithered to the nose with a lemon, apple, maple, and anise bouquet. Next, a creamy lemon sip with a caramel-like note from the maple led into apple, maple, and anise-herbal flavors on the swallow.

orchard sour

2 oz Germain-Robin Brandy (Courvoisier VS Cognac)
1/2 oz Apricot or Peach Liqueur (Mathilde Peche)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.Two Tuesdays ago, I had just entered my Bobcat's Tail into the Kindred Cocktails, and the database suggested the Orchard Sour as a related recipe. That drink was created by Darren Crawford at Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco as published by Camper English in Fine Cooking in 2011. The idea of a Sour sweetened by peach and cinnamon worked well in the Peachy Keen and the Probitas Swizzle and by apricot and cinnamon in the Southern Belle and Transatlantic Orbit, so I was hooked. With the Orchard Sour made with peach liqueur, it offered up peach and cinnamon aromas to the nose. Next, lemon and orchard fruit notes on the sip flowed into brandy, canned peach, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

marco! polo!

1 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
3/4 oz Cynar
2 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.Two Mondays ago after getting home from our Saratoga Springs adventure, I needed a nightcap. Therefore, I returned to the online recipe flashcards from Sundry & Vice in Cincinnati and landed on the Marco! Polo! that Yelp menu and drink photos place to 2017. Since there was some similarity to True Romance with mezcal, Ancho Reyes, and Cynar, I was game. Once mixed, the Marco! Polo! ventured to the nose with grapefruit, vegetal, chili peper, and smoke aromas. Next, caramel and roast notes on the sip transitioned into vegetal, dried fruit, smoke, chocolate, and spice flavors on the swallow.

[familiar creature]

3/4 oz Madre Mezcal
3/4 oz Amaro Nonino
3/4 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I made an overnight trip to Saratoga Springs, New York. Andrea had suggested Albany, but I countered with Saratoga Springs since I had just given a talk that covered the city's cocktail history but had never been. While it was a challenge to find places that were open on Superbowl Sunday, we did go to the one brewery that was open and then an excellent champagne bar. When we lamented to the bartender at the second bar that cocktail places like Hamlet & the Ghost were closed due to the sporting event, he countered with the information that their sister establishment, Familiar Creature that recently opened, was a possibility that night; moreover, the brother-sister duo who were instrumental in the Hamlet & the Ghost program were now at the new spot. For a drink, I asked for a bartender's choice from Gerry Akins who mixed up a mezcal riff on a Paper Plane that I dubbed Familiar Creature after the three overlapping ingredients as well as the name of the establishment. With mezcal in the mix instead of Bourbon, the whole combination was indeed familiar but it took on a new life and direction of its own. In the glass, the cocktail gave forth a lemon, caramel, vegetal, orange, and smoke bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel and lemon notes on the sip soared into caramel, orange, and smoky mezcal flavors on the swallow.

forefather

1 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy
1 oz Roger Groult Reserve Calvados (Morin Selection)
1/2 oz Grand Marnier (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
1/2 oz Benedictine
2 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters (*)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon oil from a twist.
(*) See text, but the drink was originally created with Bittermens Tiki Bitters.Two Saturdays, I decided to make another recipe that I had spotted on the Death & Co. marketplace site called the Forefather. The recipe was created by bartender Evan Flynn at their Denver outpost in 2023, and he was helped by his bar manager Scott Keys to create this after dinner drink for the menu. It read like a Honeymoon Cocktail with a split apple brandy base but without the lemon juice so I was sold. After I posted the drink on Instagram, Evan chimed in with, "Hey thanks for making this one! It's a real special one for me. If you try it again, try substituting Bittermens Tiki Bitters for the mole bitters. Scott and I originally wrote the drink with those bitters but the menu this drink was on already had too many drinks with tiki bitters so we ended up moving to mole bitters. Let me know which one you end up enjoying!" I did not have a chance to remake the drink with tiki bitters (I lately sub in Bittercube's Corazon since I lack the Bittermens product), but with mole bitters, the Forefather began with lemon, apple, and orange aromas. Next, a vaguely fruity sip opened up into apple, herbal, orange, and chocolate flavors on the swallow.

patrician

1 1/2 oz Armagnac (Marie Duffau Napoleon)
3/4 oz Amaro Ciociaro
1/2 oz Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1/4 oz Fernet Branca

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Fridays ago, I spotted a new recipe on Difford's Guide called the Patrician by Jason Clapham in Oxford, England. This one was different from the Patrician created as part of the Flight of Heraldry of Negroni variations at No. 9 Park. Instead, it was an Armagnac recipe that reminded me of the Scarecrow with the amaro, here Ciociaro, being modified with a small amount of Fernet Branca. Moreover, the combination of Fernet and crème de cacao made me think of the Fernet Alexander that I crafted in 2009 to answer the Anvil's 100 Drink List's Alexander description of "spirit, crème de cacao, cream" (I was inspired by the Campari Alexander that the Anvil got press for). Here, the Patrician gave forth a lemon and menthol bouquet. Next, caramel on the sip blossomed into brandy, caramel orange, minty, chocolate, and menthol flavors on the swallow.

lethal weapon

1 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1 oz Batavia Arrack (von Oosten)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
1/2 oz Vanilla Syrup
1 dropper Tiki Bitters (2 dash Bitter Cube Corazon)

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass with ice (Tiki mug with crushed ice).Two Thursdays ago, my friend Chris Almeida posted a story of a Facebook memory from 2022 of the recipe for the Lethal Weapon that he created at The Tasty in Plymouth, Massachusetts.The drink's combination of Smith & Cross, Batavia Arrack, lime, and falernum was one that I had enjoyed before in the Privateer, so I was curious to see how it would do with vanilla syrup and Tiki bitters here. Once prepared, the Lethal Weapon opened up with lime, vanilla, and rum funk aromas. Next, lime and caramel notes on the sip flipped into funky and earthy rums, vanilla, and clove flavors on the swallow.

cavalier

1 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1/2 oz Calvados (Morin Selection)
1/2 oz Bushmills Singe Malt Irish Whiskey (Knappogue Castle)
1 1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Sperone)
1/2 tsp Cane Syrup (Sirop JM)
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
2 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)
2 dash Celery Bitters (Bitter Truth)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Wednesdays ago, I was listening to Vinepair's Cocktail College podcast on the Fourth Regiment with bartender Chris Lemperle of the Crane Club in Manhattan. I first tried the Fourth Regiment, a Manhattan with a trio of bitters including celery, when it appeared on Anvil's 100 Drinks List back in 2013. Chris also covered a bonus recipe, the Cavalier, which was the bar's three spirits riff on the Fourth Regiment perhaps to mirror the three bitters in the mix, and I decided to make one that night. In the glass, the Cavalier offered up lemon, grape, herbal, and anise aromas to the nose. Next, a grape-driven sip flowed into rye, apple, nutmeg, anise, orange, and celery flavors on the swallow.

surfing valhalla

1 1/2 oz Aquavit (Linie)
1 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Pineapple Syrup
1/2 oz Cynar

Shake with ice, strain to a coupe, and garnish with a lime wedge (omit the garnish; also it was not observed in a Yelp drink photo in 2018).Two Tuesdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for Rosewater in Houston and spotted their Surfing Valhalla that seemed intriguing. The restaurant's website describes it as "A sort of Nordic-inspired Daiquiri variation. We introduced this one in the Spring of 2017, and it's long been a favorite of the owner, but he's obsessed with aquavit and Genever." The obsession of aquavit and Genever reminded me of Vandaag in Manhattan which I had the chance to visit back in 2011. Once prepared, the Surfing Valhalla paddled out to the nose with caraway, lime, and herbal aromas. Next, lime and pineapple notes on the sip crested into caraway, grapefruit pith, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

mane of needles

2 oz Bulleit Rye (Rittenhouse)
3/4 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Campari
1/4 oz Benedictine
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Mondays ago, I spotted an interesting recipe on Difford's Guide called the Mane of Needles, and I tracked down the unadapted recipe to the Drinks & Drinking blog. There, Jason O'Bryan described how he created the drink at URBN in San Diego in 2012 after getting inspired by The Violet Hour's Autumn Negroni. His blog is where I found that 2011 Negroni riff, and I noted in my blog post how it bears resemblance to The Violet Hour's Eeyore's Requiem with the Fernet Branca. The Mane of Needles was named after a lyric in Cassandra Gemini's song Frances the Mule, and once assembled, it gave forth an orange, grape, and herbal bouquet. Next, grape and a hint of caramel on the sip led into rye whiskey, bitter orange, and menthol flavors on the swallow.

mexico city blues

3/4 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz London Dry Gin (Beefeater)
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Amaro Braulio
1/2 oz Benedictine
2 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube. Two Sundays ago, I got inspired by recalling the mezcal-gin combination which made more sense to me once I saw juniper trees growing in the agave fields in Oaxaca in January 2023 and had Gracias a Dios Agave Gin from Oaxaca on the Josephine bar shelf a few months later. That duo had me finding the recipes and mashing up the Kerouac with Benedictine and the Thieves in the Night with Braulio. I originally tried a 1:1:1/2:1/2 structure akin to the Big Spender, but that turned out a little thin. I then added a little sweet vermouth to the mix which helped, but it came together more with Punt e Mes when I started again fresh. For a name, I dubbed this one Mexico City Blues after one of Jack Kerouac's short stories. In the glass, the drink showcased caramel, pine, and chocolate aromas. Next, caramel and grape notes mingled on the sip before flowing into vegetal, pine, chocolate, grapefruit zest, herbal, and smoke flavors on the swallow.

fireside

1 1/2 oz Jeppson's Malört
1 oz Bombay Gin (Beefeater)
3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with ice. Two Saturdays ago, I was perusing online recipe flashcard sets when I spotted the Fireside that reminded me a little of the Wake Up Call that I had in Colorado with the Malört, cinnamon, and citrus elements; the Fireside was created at the now closed County Barbeque in Chicago circa 2015. Once prepared, the drink began with cinnamon, juniper, and herbal aromas on the nose. Next, lemon notes on the sip gave way to grapefruit, gin, bitter herbal, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow. Like the Wake Up Call, the Malört's aggressive bitterness was tuned down, but not to the same extent here.

scorched earth

1 oz Del Maguel Mezcal Vida (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
1/4 oz Agave Syrup
2 dash Fee's Chocolate Bitters (Bittermens Mole)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a flamed orange twist (unflamed).When I got home a little after 1 am from my flights from Colorado Springs, I was tired but not sleepy. Therefore, I sought out a nightcap and selected the Scorched Earth from Ward 8 in Boston that reminded me of a Oaxacan Old Fashioned with roasted vegetal, dried fruit, and pepper spice notes from the Ancho Reyes in place of the neo-classic's aged tequila. The Classic Recipes Boston blog seemed to attribute this to Rob Haberek in 2015 and confirmed the recipe from my online flashcard source. Once prepared, the Scorched Earth gave forth an orange, vegetal, smoke, and dried fruit aroma. Next, roasted vegetable notes on the sip flowed into smoky, vegetal, spice, and dried date flavors on the swallow.

wake up call

1 1/2 oz Jeppson's Malört
3/4 oz Fruitful Grapefruit Liqueur
3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a dehydrated cinnamon-dusted grapefruit quarter slice. Two weeks ago, I was in Colorado Springs to give a talk on the intangible heritage of cocktails at the Colorado Preservation group's conference. When I got into town on Wednesday, I was smart enough to only visit brewery taprooms in the area so I could be in somewhat decent shape for my talk on Thursday afternoon. During a practice run on Thursday morning, I did not expect what being over 6000 feet above sea level can do to a speaker (I live closer to 60 feet); I was used to the air dryness' effect from having been in Denver for the USBG conference back in June, but I did not anticipate the lower amount of oxygen in the air changing my ability to fit in as many words per breath. After the talk, I had a bartending shift at the happy hour where I made two drinks that I covered in my session – Brother Cleve's Ninth Ward and Ben Sandrof's 1919 Cocktail. A pretty intense four hour stretch between the talk and producing over 90 cocktails that had me in need of dinner and drinks of my own. After dinner, I headed into downtown to go to Shame & Regret that I had scoped out the week before by its name and the drink menu. Bartender Emily Kindt told me that I needed to go to Chiba, a Japanese cyberpunk anime bar that the bartender at the Burrowing Owl where I had dinner mentioned, but first, I needed to go to Cocktails After Dusk. In fact, Emily walked me over there to introduce me to the bar team there before doing a shot and heading back to her bar. My night ended at Chiba with a Carthusian Sazerac (no recipe acquired but listed on the menu as rye, Boomsma Cloosterbitter (to replace the Green Chartreuse they used to make it with), Angostura Bitters, Leopold Absinthe spritz) and also later bumping into one of the bartenders from Cocktails After Dusk after his shift. It was really touching how the bar scene took care of me from dinner until last call. Also, it probably helped that I was wearing a Fernet Branca t-shirt, or as I told my co-worker when I got home, "Tell me you're industry without telling me." Backtracking to Shame & Regret, the cocktail I had prepared by Emily was the Wake Up Call (not her recipe though) with Malört. She described how "Malört sums up shame and regret" before pointing out their wall of Malört-face photos and mentioning that the bar is the largest Malört account in Colorado. The Wake Up Call's Malört, grapefruit, and lime combination reminded me of the Tragedy Plus Lime but without the mezcal and sherry though. In the glass, the drink donated a cinnamon and grapefruit bouquet. Next, a semi-sweet and full bodied citrussy sip led into grapefruit, cinnamon, and herbal flavors on the swallow. Overall, the juices, syrup, and liqueur all helped to soften Malört's bitterness which made for it being a delight to drink!

:: the cultural significance of cocktails ::

Two Thursdays ago, I gave a talk entitled "Cheers to Heritage: The Cultural Significance of Cocktails." The whole thing came about when bar guests from the hotel next to Josephine came in one night back in June 2023 and we talked about cocktails. One of them mentioned that she inherited her parents' signed copies of a cocktail book and the associated cooking book published circa 1910. When she described how her parents got them signed at Harvard, I figured that the Boston connection and the time frame could be author Louis Muckensturm. That night I went home and made the Fernet Cocktail from Louis' Mixed Drinks 1906. When they came in the next evening, I showed them the photo of the drink with the Cocktail Kingdom reproduction book in the background, and that cover triggered a lot of excitement. I was soon asked if I would be interested in giving a talk for a historic society in Colorado, and I said sure and handed them my card. At Drink, I frequently was asked if I would be willing to bartend their bachelor party in California or similar, and I would always hand them my business card knowing that I would never hear from them again. However, the preservation society contacted me in January 2024, and we honed in on a topic by June. The talk I gave at the Colorado Preservation conference in Colorado Springs was on cocktails being a vital part of our intangible heritage akin to cultural dances, historical buildings, Belgian beer styles, architecture, and certain foods like labneh. This talk included cocktails as a tie-in to culture, community, tradition, and history that are passed down from generation to generation, how this was almost lost during Prohibition and the Dark Ages, and three figures that helped record to preserve cocktail history or restore cocktails and bartending professionalism to their rightful place (Charles H. Baker Jr., Dale DeGroff, Brother Cleve). One of the cocktails that I discussed was the Saratoga – actually two cocktails both published a year apart in the 3rd edition of Jerry Thomas 1887 and the 2nd edition of Harry Johnson 1888 (but not in the 1876 and 1882 editions, respectively). I looked into the development of cocktail culture by way of horse racing and gambling at this mineral springs resort town north of both Manhattan and Albany that was built up due to the North choking out horseracing venues in the South during the Civil War. I also talked about characters that brought this about like John Morrissey, the bare-knuckle boxer who got involved in gambling through being a casino bouncer that led him to open the race track in Saratoga plus casinos including the one where the Jerry Thomas Saratoga was created; Wondrich points out that Thomas and Morrissey knew each other from their time in Manhattan. I also covered the rather colorful King of the Dudes, Evander Berry Wall, who won an epic dude-off that had 40 outfit changes between breakfast and dinner in Saratoga in 1888 – the same year that Harry Johnson’s Saratoga recipe was published. I also covered modern drinks that looked back at historical moments that tie into a community and sense of history and place like the 1919 Cocktail created by Ben Sandrof at Drink about the Great Molasses Flood that happened at another stretch of Boston Harbor a mile and a half away. And ice cream drinks created in Colorado for Temperance (the Black Cow) and in spite of Prohibition (Aspen Crud or boozy milk shakes) that are still enjoyed today. If you would like to view the slidedeck and read about this and other details, I uploaded a PDF of the 44 slides on my Google Drive.

bobcat's tail

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
1/4 oz Smoky Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Maple Syrup
1/2 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.Two Tuesdays ago, I was inspired by the maple-allspice dram combination that I recently had in the Fireside Chat. The allspice dram component got me riffing on the Lion's Tail, and maple boils made me think of smoke, so a touch of Islay whisky fit the bill. Moreover, the maple syrup made me wonder what wildcats live in syrup producing areas, and naming this after a cat with little or no tail seemed ironic. Once prepared, the Bobcat's Tail pounced on the nose with peat smoke and allspice aromas. Next, a lime and maple sip landed on rye, maple, allspice, and smoke flavors on the swallow.

certain ratio

3/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
3/4 oz Amaro Lucano
3/4 oz Housemade Falernum (Velvet)
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.Two Mondays ago, I was searching online recipe flashcard sets when I spotted the Certain Ratio off of the speakeasy menu at Puttery in Manhattan. The drink described on the menu as "a sum greater than its parts," and it reminded me of The Brooks which has Cynar in place of the Amaro Lucano here. The name made me think of a Brian Eno lyric from the 1970s, but it is more likely that the cocktail was named after the band A Certain Ratio formed in 2020 that was inspired by Eno. Once shaken and strained, the Certain Ratio gave forth pineapple-noted rum funk and caramel aromas. Next, lime and caramel notes on the sip ventured into funky rum, bitter orange, and clove flavors on the swallow.

hunter-gatherer

1 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Becherovka
1/2 oz Jägermeister
2 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a flamed orange twist (unflamed).Two Sundays ago, I began searching the KindredCocktails database for an interesting nightcap to make. There, I found the Hunter-Gatherer by one of my Instagram friends, Brooklyn enthusiast Jesse Casey, that he entered into the website back in 2013. The thought of winter-spiced Boulevardier with a split of Becherovka and Jagermeister for the liqueur element seemed appealing, and it reminded me of the No Quarter with the aged spirit, sweet vermouth Jagermeister, and herbal cordial structure. Once built, the Hunter-Gatherer delivered an orange, ginger, and clove bouquet to the nose. Next, grape and caramel notes swirled on the sip before opening up into rye, herbal, cinnamon, clove, and chocolate flavors on the swallow.

broadway junction

1 1/2 oz The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey (Knappogue Castle Single Malt)
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Noyaux
1 dash Bitter Truth Creole Bitters (Peychaud's)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with grapefruit oil from a twist.Two Saturdays ago, I reached for my copy of Paddy Drinks: The World of Modern Irish Whiskey Cocktails and stopped flipping the pages when I reached the Broadway Junction. Jillian Vose's creation at The Dead Rabbit in Manhattan was described as "a Boulevardier meets a Japanese Cocktail with a twist." Overall on paper, the whiskey and Campari modified by liqueur reminded me of her Psycho Killer in structure. Here, the Broadway Junction expressed a grapefruit, nutty cherry, and orange aroma. Next, a semi-sweet citrussy sip led into whiskey, almond, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow.

copper blue

2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Amaro Pasubio
2 dash Citrus Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with 3 blueberries on a pick.Two Fridays ago, I spotted a house recipe from Chuck Taggart that he posted the day before on the Pixelfed app. That drink was called the Copper Blue with rye, vermouth, and Pasubio, and the closest recipe to this that I have tried was the Return of the King with Scotch and Punt e Mes in place of the rye and regular sweet vermouth and the Rhapsody in Blue with blanc vermouth and celery bitters in place of sweet vermouth and citrus bitters. In the glass, the Copper Blue gave forth a rye and blueberry aroma. Next, grape and berry notes on the sip developed into rye, bitter herbal, and blueberry flavors on the swallow with an orange finish.

black widow

1 oz Bank Note Scotch (Famous Grouse Smoky Black)
1 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
2 dash Fee's Walnut Bitters (4 dash Strongwater Mountain Elixirs Walnut)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Thursdays ago, I was perusing an online recipe flashcard set for Ward 8 in Boston, and I found the Black Widow that seemed like an interesting Scotch-apple brandy up drink that otherwise read like a honey-sweetened Old Fashioned with walnut bitters. I was able to uncover that it was created by Mike Wyatt via a StarChefs article, and I was able to date it to around 2015 by Yelp reviews. Once mixed, the Black Widow wove a lemon, apple, and honey-floral bouquet. Next, a honey-driven sip bit into Scotch, apple, floral, and walnut flavors on the swallow.

uss mallard special

1 1/2 oz Aged Panamanian Rum (Planteray Panama Old Reserve 1997)
1 oz Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Benedictine
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (8 drop St. George)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Wednesdays ago, I found a reference to a drink on KindredCocktails that would make use of my dusty bottle of Panamanian rum that has sat unused since a Planteray-sponsored virtual Daiquiri Time Out session during the Pandemic shutdown of 2020. That drink was the U.S.S. Mallard Special that David Wondrich wrote about on the DailyBeast from his rare copy of the 1939 naval-themed Kresch's Place cocktail book published by bar owner Isaac Kresch in Colón, Panama. The drink was named after a minesweeper in World War I that was later converted to a submarine rescue ship, and Wondrich adapted the recipe slightly by increasing the rum from 1 to 1 1/2 oz and adding a lemon twist. Overall, the combination of rum, sweet vermouth, and Benedictine reminded me of Trina's Starlite Lounge's Tony Montana and Bottoms Up's Tony Vaughn, so I was intrigued to try it with my funky Planteray rum. Once prepared, the U.S.S. Mallard Special sailed to the nose with a lemon, caramel, and herbal bouquet. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip opened up into aged rum, herbal, clove, and anise flavors on the swallow.

mr. manager

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
3/4 oz Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
3/8 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
3/8 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau)
1/8 oz Walnut Liqueur (Russo Nocino)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a banana chip (omit).Two Tuesdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcard set from Rosewater in Houston and selected the Mr. Manager as a desserty and tropical Manhattan. On paper, it fell somewhere between the banana-walnut Man in the Yellow Hat and the banana-sherry Vieux Pompier. In the glass, the Mr. Manager sauntered over with a nutty, banana, and clove aroma. Next, a grape sip with dried fruit notes gave way to rye, banana, walnut, and allspice flavors on the swallow. Overall, it initially was not overly sweet as I had feared, but as things warmed up, the cloying quotient began to creep up; perhaps serving this on a large ice cube would help things out.

queen village

2 oz Laird's Applejack (Laird's Bonded)
1 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1/4 oz Varnelli Caffè Moka (Mr. Black)

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass.Two Mondays ago, I found a set of online recipe flashcards from Giuseppe & Sons in Philadelphia, and I honed in on the Marconi Wireless riff called the Queen Village named after a neighborhood nearby the bar. With the apple brandy, sweet vermouth, and Fernet, it reminded me of the Newark but with coffee liqueur instead of Maraschino. Once prepared, the Queen Village showcased an apple and minty-menthol bouquet to the nose. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip led into apple and bitter herbal-coffee flavors on the swallow.

cobra's tail

3/4 oz Planteray OFTD Rum
1 1/4 oz Bonded Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (8 drop St. George)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Tiki mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

After going to Wusong Road where I tasted their Cobra's Fang riff for the Chinese New Years celebration for the Year of the Snake, I became inspired. When I looked at a modern remake of the 1937 Cobra's Fang and the classic 1962 Cobra, the remake's OFTD Rum called out to me and I wanted to pair it with brandy from the Road to Ruin a few nights before. I then removed the orange juice component, and instead of doing the Paul McGee move of subbing in curaçao, I opted for Campari given how well it pairs with passion fruit in the Novara. In considering of the remake's addition of falernum, I thought about allspice dram with how well it worked with Campari in the Chester Rapkin, Negroni Grog, and other drinks. With the allspice dram, I realized that it was close to a Lion's Tail, and I switched the Cognac to Bourbon. For a name, my mind went to the Cobra's Tail; I later uncovered the Lion's Fang which would have been the other choice (that recipe is less like the Cobra's Fang and closer to a Lion's Tail though, and definitely distinct from my end result).The Cobra's Tail proffered a cinnamon, passion fruit, orange, and allspice aroma. Next, caramel and lime notes on the sip slithered into funky rum, Bourbon, passion fruit, and allspice flavors on the swallow. Indeed, with all of the overproof and bonded spirits plus the liqueurs, the Cobra's Tail left a detectable bite when I woke up the next day.

wonderlust king

2 oz Wild Turkey 101 Rye (Rittenhouse Bonded)
3/4 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Amaro Nardini
1 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)
1 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)
1 dash Saline (4 drop 20% Salt Solution)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Saturdays, I was perusing a bar's online recipe flashcards when I spotted a curious borrowed recipe, the Wonderlust King from Esquire Tavern in San Antonio. Overall, the combination reminded me of the Jackson Ward with different proportions; however, the Wonderlust King is closer to a Little Italy in structure than Jackson Ward's more Black Manhattan-like recipe. In the glass, the Wonderlust King dictated an orange and herbal aroma. Next, caramel and grape notes swirled on the sip, and the swallow rounded things off with rye, root beer, licorice, herbal, and chocolate flavors.